U.S. patent application number 11/337971 was filed with the patent office on 2006-08-10 for substrate transferring apparatus.
Invention is credited to Jun-Mo Jung, Jung-Soo Lee.
Application Number | 20060177297 11/337971 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 36780111 |
Filed Date | 2006-08-10 |
United States Patent
Application |
20060177297 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Jung; Jun-Mo ; et
al. |
August 10, 2006 |
Substrate transferring apparatus
Abstract
Disclosed herein is a substrate transferring apparatus. The
apparatus comprises air injection modules, which serve to float a
substrate, and can be independently attached to or detached from
the substrate transferring apparatus. Thus, even if any one of the
air injection modules is damaged, the substrate is prevented from
falling because other air injection modules serve to continuously
float the substrate. Furthermore, with such a construction, the air
injection modules have an advantage in view of maintenance.
Inventors: |
Jung; Jun-Mo; (Hwaseong
City, KR) ; Lee; Jung-Soo; (Hwaseong City,
KR) |
Correspondence
Address: |
DALY, CROWLEY, MOFFORD & DURKEE, LLP
SUITE 301A
354A TURNPIKE STREET
CANTON
MA
02021-2714
US
|
Family ID: |
36780111 |
Appl. No.: |
11/337971 |
Filed: |
January 23, 2006 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
414/749.1 |
Current CPC
Class: |
B65G 49/063 20130101;
H01L 21/67787 20130101; B65G 49/065 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
414/749.1 |
International
Class: |
B65G 1/133 20060101
B65G001/133 |
Foreign Application Data
Date |
Code |
Application Number |
Jan 26, 2005 |
KR |
10-2005-0007162 |
Mar 23, 2005 |
KR |
10-2005-0024001 |
Claims
1. A substrate transferring apparatus for transferring a substrate
mounted thereon in a horizontal direction, comprising: a pair of
transfer roller sets parallelly separated a predetermined distance
from each other, and rotating in a state of contacting both sides
of the substrate to move the substrate in the horizontal direction;
a plurality of air injection modules disposed between the pair of
transfer roller sets, and separated a predetermined distance from
each other to inject air upwardly to a central region of the
substrate, and to float the substrate, each air injection module
being detachably attached to the substrate transferring apparatus,
and movable in its position.
2. The apparatus as set forth in claim 1, wherein each of the air
injection modules comprises: a blowing fan to blow air upwardly to
the substrate; a filter member provided above the blowing fan to
filter foreign substances from the air blown by the blowing fan; a
porous plate separated a predetermined distance above the filter
member to allow the air passing through the filter member to be
uniformly injected upwardly; and a buffering space closed between
the filter member and the porous plate to spread the air passing
through the filter member therein.
3. The apparatus as set forth in claim 1, further comprising:
buffering members provided between the air injection modules, and
being lifted or lowered therebetween such that the buffering
members are lifted above the air injection modules, and support the
substrate when the substrate falls.
4. The apparatus as set forth in claim 3, wherein each of the
buffering members comprises a substrate contact portion contacting
the substrate, and an impact absorbing portion coupled to a lower
portion of the substrate contact portion to absorb impact applied
to the substrate contact portion.
5. The apparatus as set forth in claim 4, wherein the substrate
contact portion is made of a stretchable material.
6. The apparatus as set forth in claim 5, wherein the substrate
contact portion has a spherical shape.
7. The apparatus as set forth in claim 6, wherein the transfer
roller sets are adjustable in a distance therebetween.
8. A substrate transferring apparatus for transferring a substrate
held in a slanted position in a horizontal direction, comprising: a
substrate moving part being rotatable, and contacting a lower side
of the slanted substrate to move the substrate in the horizontal
direction; and a plurality of air injection modules provided in a
diagonal direction with respect to the substrate moving part to
inject air toward the substrate and to float the substrate in the
slated position.
9. The apparatus as set forth in claim 8, wherein the substrate
moving part comprises a plurality of rollers separated a
predetermined distance from each other.
10. The apparatus as set forth in claim 9, wherein each of the air
injection modules is detachably attached to the substrate
transferring apparatus, and movable in position.
11. The apparatus as set forth in claim 10, wherein each of the air
injection modules comprises: a blowing fan to blow air upwardly
toward the substrate; a filter member provided above the blowing
fan to filter foreign substances from the air blown by the blowing
fan; a porous plate separated a predetermined distance above the
filter member to allow the air passing through the filter member to
be uniformly injected upwardly; and a buffering space closed
between the filter member and the porous plate to spread the air
passing through the filter member therein.
12. The apparatus as set forth in claim 11, wherein the air
injection modules are provided in plural rows separated a
predetermined distance from each other to define preliminary paths
between the respective rows.
13. The apparatus as set forth in claim 12, further comprising:
buffering members provided between the air injection modules, and
being lifted or lowered with respect to the substrate in each of
the preliminary paths such that the buffering members are lifted
above the air injection modules, and support the substrate when the
substrate falls.
14. The apparatus as set forth in claim 13, wherein the buffering
member comprises a substrate contact portion contacting the
substrate, an impact absorbing portion coupled to a lower portion
of the substrate contact portion to absorb impact applied to the
substrate contact portion, and a lifting member coupled to a lower
portion of the impact absorbing portion to lift or lower the
substrate contact portion and the impact absorbing portion.
15. The apparatus as set forth in claim 14, wherein the substrate
contact portion is made of a stretchable material.
16. The apparatus as set forth in claim 15, wherein the substrate
contact portion has a spherical shape.
Description
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION
[0001] The present application claims priority to Korean Patent
Application No. 10-2005-0007162 filed on Jan. 26, 2005, and to
Korean Patent Application No. 10-2005-0024001 filed on Mar. 23,
2005, both of which are incorporated herein by reference.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0002] 1. Field of the Invention
[0003] The present invention relates to a substrate transferring
apparatus for transferring plate-shaped substrates.
[0004] 2. Description of the Related Art
[0005] Recent developments in information technology have resulted
in a wide use of information display devices, and continuously
increased necessity thereof. Various information display devices
are known in the art ranging from conventional CRT monitors to flat
panel displays such as liquid crystal displays (LCD), plasma
display panels (PDP), organic light emitting devices (OLED) and the
like. In particular, the LCD has been increased in importance of
application in view of its utility. Specifically, due to advantages
such as miniaturization, light weight, low power consumption, the
LCD has been increased in its application as a replacement which
can overcome disadvantages of the conventional display device such
as CRT monitors.
[0006] During a process for manufacturing such a flat display
device, a thin glass substrate having a thickness of about 0.7
.quadrature. is treated. Specifically, while transferring a thin
and wide glass substrate to respective processing stages, various
processes are performed. Meanwhile, since the flat display device
requires a significantly high precision, even a minute scar can
have a detrimental influence on the quality of the flat display
device. Thus, when manufacturing the flat display device, it is
very important in view of quality management of the products to
prevent damage from being formed on the surface thereof during
transfer of the substrate as well as during other processes during
manufacture of the flat display device.
[0007] In this regard, as for a substrate transferring apparatus
used for the process of manufacturing the flat display device, a
substrate transferring apparatus which is not brought into direct
contact with a surface of a substrate in order to prevent damage of
the substrate have been mainly developed. In particular, a
substrate transferring apparatus designed to transfer the substrate
in a floated state with air is mainly used in the art. More
specifically, the substrate transferring apparatus operates in such
a way that rollers of the apparatus are brought into contact with
very narrow portions at both sides of the substrate, and rotate to
transfer the substrate while air injection nozzles inject air
perpendicular to a substantial area of the substrate including a
central region thereof in order to float the substrate, thereby
allowing a wide substrate to be stably transferred.
[0008] However, since such an air-floating type substrate
transferring apparatus requires a pump to supply a highly
compressed air for the flotation of the substrate, and a pipe to
connect the pump with a body of the substrate transferring
apparatus, the substrate transferring apparatus has a complicated
structure, causing an increase in manufacturing costs. In
particular, as the surface area of the flat display device has
recently been increased, the requirement for a large capacity pump
has been also increased together with difficulty in the management
of the pipe.
[0009] In addition, a substrate transferring apparatus which can be
commonly used for transfer of substrates having various sizes via
an appropriate adjustment of the apparatus according to the sizes
of the substrates is urgently needed in the art.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0010] The present invention has been made to solve the above
problems, and it is an object of the present invention to provide a
substrate transferring apparatus appropriate for efficient transfer
of a large area substrate.
[0011] In accordance with one aspect of the present invention, the
above and other objects can be accomplished by the provision of a
substrate transferring apparatus for transferring a substrate
mounted thereon in a horizontal direction, comprising: a pair of
transfer roller sets parallelly separated a predetermined distance
from each other, and rotating in a state of contacting both sides
of the substrate to move the substrate in the horizontal direction;
a plurality of air injection modules disposed between the pair of
transfer roller sets, and separated a predetermined distance from
each other to inject air upwardly to a central region of the
substrate and to float the substrate, each air injection module
being detachably attached to the substrate transferring apparatus,
and movable in its position.
[0012] In accordance with another aspect of the present invention,
there is provided a substrate transferring apparatus for
transferring a substrate held in a slanted position in a horizontal
direction, comprising: a substrate moving part being able to
rotate, and contacting a lower side of the slanted substrate to
move the substrate in the horizontal direction; and a plurality of
air injection modules provided in a diagonal direction with respect
to the substrate moving part to inject air toward the substrate in
order to float the substrate in the slanted state.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0013] The foregoing and other objects and features of the present
invention will be more clearly understood from the following
detailed description taken in conjunction with the accompanying
drawings, in which:
[0014] FIG. 1 is a perspective view illustrating a substrate
transferring apparatus in accordance with a first embodiment of the
present invention;
[0015] FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view illustrating the
construction of an air injection module of the substrate
transferring apparatus according to the first embodiment;
[0016] FIG. 3 is view illustrating a process for loading a
substrate on the substrate transferring apparatus according to the
first embodiment;
[0017] FIG. 4 is a view illustrating a buffering member of the
substrate transferring apparatus according to the first
embodiment;
[0018] FIG. 5 is a view illustrating operation of a pair of
transfer roller sets of the substrate transferring apparatus
according to the first embodiment;
[0019] FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a substrate
transferring apparatus in accordance with a second embodiment of
the present invention;
[0020] FIG. 7 is a front view illustrating the substrate
transferred by a substrate moving part of the transferring
apparatus according to the second embodiment; and
[0021] FIG. 8 is a partial cross-sectional view illustrating the
substrate transferring apparatus according to the second
embodiment.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
[0022] Preferred embodiments of the present invention will be
described in detail with reference to the accompanying
drawings.
Embodiment 1
[0023] As shown in FIG. 1, a substrate transferring apparatus 1
according to a first embodiment comprises a pair of transfer roller
sets 10; air injection modules 20; and substrate loading and
unloading paths 30.
[0024] The pair of transfer roller sets 10 is brought into direct
contact with both ends of a substrate S, and rotates to transfer
the substrate S in a horizontal direction. In order to allow the
substrate to be transferred by the pair of transfer roller sets 10
in a state wherein very narrow portions at both sides of the
substrate contact the pair of transfer roller sets 10, the transfer
roller sets 10 are spaced as far apart as possible from each other
in the horizontal direction. At this time, the transfer roller sets
10 are rotated by separate driving units (not shown). Here, the
driving units are partitioned from the pair of transfer roller sets
10 in order to prevent particles, which can be created during
rotation of the transfer roller sets 10, from spreading towards the
substrate and contaminating the substrate. Specifically, as shown
in FIG. 1, each of the driving units is positioned in a closed
space of an outer box 12, and is partitioned from an associated
transfer roller set which contacts the substrate S. The outer box
12 may be formed with an air vent (not shown) through which
internal air can be sucked, and discharged to an outside.
[0025] The air injection modules 20 serve to inject air
perpendicular to a central region of the substrate, which is being
transferred by the substrate transferring apparatus 1, so as to
float the substrate. As shown in FIG. 2, each of the air injection
modules 20 comprises blowing fans 22, a filter member 24, a porous
plate 26, and a buffering space 28. The blowing fans 22 serve to
blow air perpendicular to the substrate S. Each air injection
module 20 comprises a plurality of blowing fans 22 which are
separated a predetermined distance from each other, and
horizontally disposed therein. Preferably, each of the blowing fans
22 inject air upwardly from a central portion of the blowing fan 22
while injecting air diagonally from an outer periphery of the
blowing fan 22, such that the air can be uniformly injected to the
substrate from every portion of each air injection module 20.
[0026] The filter member 24 serves to filter foreign substances
from air blown upwardly by the blowing fans 22 in order to purify
the air. Thus, the filter member 24 is positioned above the blowing
fans 22, and has a construction that sufficiently removes foreign
substances in the air while ensuring sufficient passage of the air
so as not to lower air pressure generated by the blowing fans 22.
Preferably, the filter member 24 has a wider cross section than
each of the blowing fans 20, and is positioned to face an entire
surface of each air injection module 20.
[0027] The porous plate 26 allows air passing through the filter
member 24 to be uniformly injected upwardly. As shown in FIG. 2,
the porous plate 26 is a plate which has a number of through holes
formed, and spaced a predetermined space from each other thereon.
Here, the though holes having a small diameter are preferably
formed as many as possible on the plate such that the air can be
uniformly injected to the entire surface of the substrate.
[0028] The buffering space 28 allows air passing through the filter
member 24 to stay a predetermined period therein in order to
uniformly distribute the air below the entire surface of the air
injection module 20, thereby allowing the air to be injected with a
predetermined pressure from the air injection module 20. That is,
when the air passing through the filter member 24 in a highly
compressed state by the blowing fans 22 enters the buffering space
28, the buffering space 28 servers to allow the air to stay with a
predetermined pressure therein before being injected through the
porous plate 26, so that the air is uniformly distributed therein,
and then injected with the predetermined pressure. If the substrate
transferring apparatus does not comprise such a buffering space 28,
air is directly blown toward the substrate by the air injection
modules 20, such that high-pressure air is blown to the central
region of the substrate, and low-pressure air is blown to other
regions thereof, causing some portions of the substrate to float
relatively high, and other portions of the substrate to float
relatively low. There occurs a problem in that the substrate is
bent during transfer of the substrate. Accordingly, it is very
important to determine the volume of the buffering space 28. If the
buffering space 28 has an excessively large volume, there occurs a
problem in that a vortex flow is generated in the buffering space
28. On the contrary, if the buffering space 28 has an excessively
small volume, there occurs a problem in that air is not
sufficiently spread.
[0029] The substrate transferring apparatus 1 according to this
embodiment comprises a plurality of air injection modules 20. In
other words, as shown in FIG. 1, the plural air injection modules
20 are separated a predetermined distance from each other between
the pair of transfer roller sets. At this time, a larger area
substrate results in an increase in the number of air injection
modules 20, whereas a smaller area substrate results in a decrease
in the number of air injection modules 20. In addition, according
to the embodiment, when the substrate transferring apparatus 1
comprises the plurality of air injection modules 20, the air
injection modules 20 are spaced the predetermined distance from
each other. As a result, predetermined spaces are defined between
the air injection modules 20. According to this embodiment, these
spaces are used as substrate loading/unloading paths 30 which can
be used for loading or unloading the substrate on the substrate
transferring apparatus. As shown in FIG. 3, each of the substrate
loading/unloading paths 30 allows a robot arm A of a substrate
transferring robot (not shown) placed at the outside to enter the
space, and to be lifted or lowered therein when loading or
unloading the substrate on the substrate transferring apparatus 1.
That is, after the robot arm A enters an associated substrate
loading/unloading path 30 with the substrate S mounted on the robot
arm A, the robot arm S is lowered therein, delivers the substrate S
to the transfer roller sets 10, and is then withdrawn to an
original position. Unloading operation of the substrate S by the
robot arm A is performed by reverse procedures.
[0030] According to this embodiment, the substrate transferring
apparatus further comprises a buffering member 40 in each
loading/unloading path 30. The buffering member 40 serves to
prevent the substrate from colliding against the air injection
modules 20 by supporting the lower surface of the substrate S when
the substrate S floated by the air injection modules 20 falls.
Thus, the buffering member 40 can be lifted or lowered so as to
avoid interference with the robot arm A. The buffering member 40 is
placed at a height between an upper surface of the air injection
modules 20 and the lower surface of the floated substrate during
transfer of the substrate S.
[0031] At this time, according to the present embodiment, the
buffering member 40 comprises a substrate contact portion 42, an
impact absorbing portion 44, and a lifting member. The substrate
contact portion 42 constitutes an upper portion of the buffering
member 40, and is brought into direct contact with the lower
surface of the substrate S. The substrate contact portion 42 has a
spherical shape in order to minimize a contact area with the
substrate S. With the spherical shape of the substrate contact
portion 42, the substrate contact portion 42 has a point contact
with the substrate S, thereby providing a merit of minimizing the
contact area with the substrate S. Preferably, the substrate
contact portion 42 is made of a stretchable material in order to
absorb impact applied to the substrate S when contacting the
substrate S.
[0032] The lifting member serves to lift or lower the substrate
contact portion 42. For this purpose, the lifting member is coupled
to a lower portion of the substrate contact portion 42 to drive the
substrate contact portion 42 up and down.
[0033] The impact absorbing portion 44 is inserted to a connecting
shaft which connects the substrate contact portion 42 and the
lifting member, and serves to absorb the impact applied to the
substrate contact portion 42. That is, as shown in FIG. 4, the
impact absorbing portion 44 is realized by a resilient member
inserted to the connecting shaft between the substrate contact
portion 42 and the lifting member to maintain the substrate contact
portion 42 at a predetermined height.
[0034] Meanwhile, preferably, each of the air injection modules 20
is detachably attached to the substrate transferring apparatus 1,
and is movable in its position in the substrate transferring
apparatus. With such a construction of allowing the air injection
modules 20 to be independently detached from or attached to the
substrate transferring apparatus 1, the substrate transferring
apparatus has an advantage in that the number air injection modules
20 can be adjusted according to the size of the substrate S.
[0035] In addition, preferably, the distance between the transfer
roller sets 10 is adjustable. With this construction, when one of
the air injection modules 20 is detached from the apparatus, one of
the transfer roller sets 10 is moved towards the other transfer
roller set 10, as shown in FIG. 5, thereby narrowing the distance
between the transfer roller sets 10. With such a construction of
allowing the distance between the transfer roller sets 10 to be
adjusted, the substrate transferring apparatus can be variously
adapted according to the size of the substrate transferred thereby,
so that the apparatus of the invention can be commonly applied to
substrates having different sizes.
Embodiment 2
[0036] As shown in FIG. 6, a substrate transferring apparatus 100
according to a second embodiment comprises a substrate moving part
110; and air injection modules 120. According to the second
embodiment, the substrate is held in a slated position rather than
a horizontal state, and transferred in order to reduce a foot print
occupied by the substrate transferring apparatus 100. Here, the
substrate is transferred in a state of being slanted at a
predetermined angle instead of being stood at a right angle in
order to ensure more stable transfer of the substrate. While the
substrate is transferred in the state of being slanted at the
predetermined angle, it is supported by the air injection modules
120 positioned at one side of the substrate. This allows the
substrate to be stably transferred without falling, and reduces the
space occupied by the substrate transferring apparatus 100 in a
clean room.
[0037] The substrate moving part 110 serves to move the substrate
in the horizontal direction while holding the substrate in the
slanted position. According to the second embodiment, the substrate
moving part 100 comprises a plurality of rollers, which contact a
lower side of the substrate S standing at an angle, and move the
substrate S. Here, according to the second embodiment, in order to
prevent the lower side of the substrate S from being separated from
a contact surface with the rollers as shown in FIG. 6, a periphery
of the rollers extend outwardly.
[0038] Next, the air injection modules 120 are provided in a
diagonal direction with respect to the substrate moving part 110,
as shown in FIG. 6, and horizontally guide the substrate S while
maintaining the slant of the substrate. In other words, the air
injection modules 120 serve to guide the substrate in the
horizontal direction while supporting the substrate in a slightly
slanted state with respect to the vertical direction so as not to
fall. At this time, according to the second embodiment, each of the
air injection modules 120 is also detachably attached to the
substrate transferring apparatus 100, and movable in its position.
The air injection modules 120 of the second embodiment have the
same construction as that of the first embodiment, and thus
repetitious description thereof will be omitted hereinafter.
[0039] The substrate transferring apparatus 100 according to this
embodiment comprises a plurality of air injection modules 120. In
other words, as shown in FIG. 6, the plural air injection modules
120 are separated a predetermined distance from each other in the
diagonal direction with respect to the substrate moving part 110.
At this time, a larger area substrate results in an increase in the
number of rows of the air injection modules 120, whereas a smaller
area substrate results in a decrease in the number of rows of the
air injection modules 120. In addition, according to the present
embodiment, when arranging the air injection modules 120 in plural
rows on the substrate transferring apparatus 100, the rows are
separated a predetermined distance from each other, thereby
defining preliminary paths 130 between the respective rows. These
preliminary paths 130 may have various utility. First of all, the
preliminary paths 130 can be used as substrate loading/unloading
paths for loading or unloading the substrate on the substrate
transferring apparatus 100.
[0040] In addition, as shown in FIG. 8, each of the preliminary
paths 130 can be used as a space for positioning a buffering member
140. In other words, the buffering member 140 is positioned in each
preliminary path 130, and can be lifted or lowered with respect to
the substrate while supporting the substrate above the air
injection modules 120. The buffering members 140 serve to prevent
the substrate from colliding against the air injection modules 120
by supporting a lower surface of the substrate S when the substrate
S floated by the air injection modules 120 falls. Thus, the
buffering member 140 can be lifted or lowered with respect to the
substrate in order to allow the preliminary paths 130 to be used
for other utilities, and when the preliminary paths 130 are used
for other utilities, the buffering member 40 is placed, and waits
at a height between an upper surface of the air injection modules
120 and the lower surface of the floated substrate.
[0041] At this time, since the buffering member 140 of the second
embodiment has the same construction as that of the first
embodiment, repetitious description thereof will be omitted
hereinafter.
[0042] Meanwhile, preferably, each of the air injection modules 120
according to the second embodiment is detachably attached to the
substrate transferring apparatus 100. With such a construction
allowing the air injection modules 20 to be independently detached
from or attached to the substrate transferring apparatus 100, there
is an advantage in that the number air injection modules can be
adjusted according to the size of the substrate.
[0043] As apparent from the above description, one of the
advantageous effects of the present invention is that a large area
substrate can be transferred without additional compressing pumps
or pipes, and without damage of the substrate.
[0044] In addition, according to the invention, the substrate
transferring apparatus can be commonly applied to various
substrates having different sizes by changing the construction
thereof according to the size of the substrate to be transferred
thereby.
[0045] In addition, according to the invention, the air injection
modules can be detachably attached to the substrate transferring
apparatus, so that, even if any one of the air injection modules is
damaged, the substrate is prevented from falling because other air
injection modules continue to float the substrate. Furthermore,
with such a construction, the air injection modules provide an
advantage in view of maintenance thereof.
[0046] In addition, the substrate transferring apparatus can stably
transfer the substrate in a slightly slanted state rather than in
an upright state while supporting the substrate via the air
injection method, thereby preventing the substrate from being
damaged during transfer of the substrate.
[0047] It should be understood that the embodiments and the
accompanying drawings have been described for illustrative purposes
and the present invention is limited by the following claims.
Further, those skilled in the art will appreciate that various
modifications, additions and substitutions are allowed without
departing from the scope and spirit of the invention as set forth
in the accompanying claims.
* * * * *